Friday, May 30, 2014

AU-348150

It's hard to believe but in 7 years of Postcrossing, this is my 1st koalas card. Well, i've 2 multiview cards, those australian icons cards with several images of famous places and animals.

I've a few koalas cards in my favorites and i'm really glad I got this one.

Photo: C. Andrew Henley / LARUS

AU-348150, sent by Lisa.

Along with the kangaroo, the koala is the most famous animal ambassador of
Australia.

Though often called the koala "bear," this cuddly animal is not a bear at
all; it is a marsupial, or pouched mammal. After giving birth, a female koala
carries her baby in her pouch for about six months. When the infant emerges, it
rides on its mother's back or clings to her belly, accompanying her everywhere
until it is about a year old.

Koalas live in eastern Australia, where the eucalyptus trees they love are
most plentiful. In fact, they rarely leave these trees, and their sharp claws
and opposable digits easily keep them aloft. During the day they doze, tucked
into forks or nooks in the trees, sleeping for up to 18 hours.

When not asleep a koala feeds on eucalyptus leaves, especially at night.
Koalas do not drink much water and they get most of their moisture from these
leaves. Each animal eats a tremendous amount for its size—about two and a half
pounds (one kilogram) of leaves a day. Koalas even store snacks of leaves in
pouches in their cheeks.

A special digestive system—a long gut—allows koalas to break down the tough
eucalyptus leaves and remain unharmed by their poison. Koalas eat so many of
these leaves that they take on a distinctive odor from their oil, reminiscent of
cough drops.

These plump, fuzzy mammals were widely hunted during the 1920s and 1930s, and
their populations plunged. Helped by reintroduction, they have reappeared over
much of their former range, but their populations are smaller and scattered.
Koalas need a lot of space—about a hundred trees per animal—a pressing problem
as Australia's woodlands continue to shrink. - in:http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/koala/